Disclaimer—Sorry, I don't own this stuff, I just write about it.

7—Rubber and Glue

Scotty gave a deep, exaggerated sigh as he watched Lilly switch her delicates to a dryer and started a load of darks in another dryer nearby. Lilly glared over and him and then turned away to ignore Scotty. The Puerto Rican narrowed his eyes at his blonde partner and grabbed the nearest magazine in the Laundromat. He groaned out loud when he realized he had grabbed Highlights for Children.

"I didn't know you could read, Valens," said Lilly taking the seat beside him. Then she glanced at his magazine. "Of course, I don't think pictures and puzzles count as reading."

"Very funny, Lil. You owe me for coming here tonight."

Lilly rolled her eyes. "This coming from the guy who vowed to watch me morning until night as long as our main suspect is missing."

"I didn't sign up for laundry duty."

"I told you to bring a book, Scotty. Laundry in this place is a slow process. So stop your crying." Lilly pulled her feet up into her chair and rested her head back against the seat. She was dead tired from the events of the day. After their interview with Mrs. Glenrose they had arrived back at the department with little else to do. Jeffries and Vera had returned twenty minutes after them with nothing to add about Victor. His co-workers claimed he kept to himself, and that none of them were his friends. Apparently Victor was good at acting like the average Joe.

"Hey, Lil, look!" Scotty nudged Lilly with a hard jab of his elbow, forcing the blonde officer to reluctantly open her eyes and see what Scotty was making a fuss about. She stifled a groan as she caught sight of a puppy entering the store with an old man holding the leash. "Ain't he cute?"

"The dog or the man?" teased Lilly closing her eyes again. Scotty flicked her on the forehead, causing Lilly to jump in surprise.

"What the hell?" she demanded in a flash of anger.

Scotty snapped right back at her. "You've been a real bitch since I moved in, Lil. What the fuck is your problem?"

"I never asked you to move in, Scotty. You volunteered all on your own. Jesus Christ! Stop being such a cocky bastard!"

"Me? I'm protecting you day and night, and this is the thanks I get?"

Lilly gave a sarcastic chuckle. "Gee Scotty, how would you like me to thank you? Sex? Or money? Take your pick."

Scotty scowled at Lilly's ill humor and quickly got on his feet. He stalked away from the fuming blonde and took a seat next to the old man with the puppy.

"Problems with the lady?" asked the old man patting his puppy on the head.

"Something like that. She's just difficult, you know? She likes her independence, so me living with her is like taking away the First Amendment," muttered Scotty darkly.

"Don't worry, boyo, things get better after you have your first child. After that the missus won't let you out of her sight."

"I don't think we'll be having kids anytime soon." Then Scotty froze. Kids? He turned towards the old man in a panic. "Kids? Oh, look, you've got things all wrong, Lil and I aren't married. We're not even dating. We're partners."

The old man waved off Scotty's protests as he slowly got to his feet. "My wife and I worked together for years before we started dating. Don't worry about your lady love, she'll forgive you, and then you two can share the same bed." With those words the old man followed an old lady out the door. Scotty watched in dumbstruck horror as he watched the old couple get into their car and eventually drive away. Scotty sat back in his seat with his mouth hanging open, barely noticing Lilly taking a seat beside him.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. Scotty shook his head and looked at Lilly with confusion. "It's hard to share my place with someone after living alone for so long. That and I hate feeling like everyone thinks I can't protect myself."

"I'm sorry too, Lil. We gonna be okay now? 'Cause I don't think I'll live if you cut off my food supply while I'm at your place."

"Oh please, I'd let you eat with the cats. Their canned food is supposed to be high with vitamins and protein." Lilly gave Scotty a smile before heading back to her original seat.

An Hour Later:

Scotty grinned as he took Lilly's delicates out of the dryer. He brought the basket over to wear Lilly was folding her darks and waited for her to look up at him. Lilly finally glanced at Scotty, and her face turned bright red at what she saw in his hands.

"Lace, Rush? Didn't think it was you," said Scotty holding up a white lace bra. Lilly gave him a death glare and snatched the bra out of his hands.

"Don't even think about it," she hissed grabbing the rest of her clothes from Scotty.

"What? I can't tell the guys at work you wear lace under all your clothes? It'd be a hot topic for the next month."

"You start telling people about my underwear and they're really gonna believe we are sleeping together," retorted Lilly turning her back to him.

Scotty gave a small shrug as shifted his arm within his sling. "It'd be a helluva lot better than everyone thinking you're the one who beat the shit outta me."

"I personally like that one. So keep your mouth shut or I'll make the girls sleep with you tonight."

"The girls?" Scotty gulped.

"Yeah, you know, my cats. They like you a lot, so why should I deny them a chance to keep you warm at night?" Lilly smirked in triumph as Scotty grabbed her laundry basket and began muttering to himself about the injustice of a certain partner as he headed towards her car.

The ride back to Lilly's apartment was relatively quiet. Scotty was still muttering to himself, so Lilly turned on the radio to amuse herself. When they got to the apartment though, things took a turn for the worse. Lilly frowned as she pulled up in front of her place. She knew that something was terribly wrong. The front door was wide open.

Scotty pulled out his gun from his holster and motioned Lilly to follow at a close distance. Lilly also took out her gun as the two officers slowly entered the apartment. The place was dark as Scotty led the inspection of each nook and cranny. After twenty minutes they determined that whoever had been in the apartment earlier was long gone. Lilly returned to the living room and flipped on a light. She gave a small sigh as she caught sight of the mess the intruder had made.

"Hey, Lil, you might want to come see this," called out Scotty from her bedroom. Lilly returned to the bedroom and narrowed her eyes as she caught sight of her mirror. Written in permanent marker was a message from Victor.

To The Angel of My Dreams—

Do not worry, my Laura, death is bittersweet. I will come back for you soon.

"Well," started Lilly trying to sound encouraging. "At least we know that he's still in town."

"Yeah, but what screw ball is protecting him? I'll call the boss and have him send some guys over to dust for prints. Maybe our boy left some traces of his whereabouts."

Lilly sat next to Scotty on the couch in silence as they watched the forensics team dust her apartment. Lilly and Scotty each had one cat in their lap. Lilly was deep in thought as Scotty stood up to talk with Stillman who had just entered the apartment.

"Hey, boss," said Scotty quietly.

Stillman simply nodded in acknowledgement before looking over at Lilly. "Is she alright?"

"I think she's pissed more than anything. I don't know how the fucker got in. Forensics hasn't found anything yet. It's like he had a key or something."

"Actually, it wouldn't be hard to break in," spoke up Lilly from her spot. "My spare key's underneath the welcome mat."

"Well then," replied Stillman, "should I book you two a room in a hotel?"

Lilly shook her head. "Naw, I'm not leaving my cats here, and if we stay here then we have a better chance at catching Victor next time he shows."

"Supposing there is a next time," mumbled Scotty running his hands through his hair. Lilly gave him a wide grin.

"There's always a next time, Scotty. Always."

"Fine, I'll let you two stay here for the night, but I'm leaving a cop posted out the front door," relented Stillman. "Tomorrow we'll sort through this Victor business and find the one who's letting him hide out in town."

Lilly and Scotty both nodded in agreement as Stillman walked back out the front door. It was close to midnight by the time the two officers were alone again. Lilly frowned as she heard two cops joking with each other right outside her door.

"As soon as I get my hands on Victor, he's gonna be sorry he ever screwed with me," muttered Lilly darkly.

"I think that's what he's counting on," said Scotty rubbing his eyes. "Come on, you need to sleep. The faster you get to bed, the faster I can."

Lilly didn't protest as Scotty led her back to her room. She rolled her eyes as he sat on one side of her bed waiting for her to get changed. It looked like her partner was preparing to watch her like a hawk again. Lilly grabbed her oversized tee shirt and boxers before retreating into her bathroom. Minutes later she returned and snorted at what she saw. Scotty had fallen asleep on her pillow and the cats were curled up on top of him.

"Serves you right," whispered Lilly as she grabbed a blanket from her closet and covered Scotty with it. Lilly pursed her lips in semi-amusement as she crawled underneath her covers beside Scotty. She turned her back on her partner, only to hear him shift onto his side. The cats protested with soft cries and then made themselves comfortable on the end of the bed.

Some bodyguard, thought Lilly to herself as she drifted off into sleep.

The Next Morning:

Scotty furrowed his eyebrows as he heard an alarm clock go off in the distance. After a minute in stopped, allowing him to cuddle the mass of blankets surrounding him. In the back of his mind, Scotty knew there was something wrong with his blanket. He nuzzled his head into his pillow, only to find it not as comfortable as it had been earlier. Scotty slowly opened his eyes and found himself staring at the top of a blonde head. He lifted his head off from the bed and smiled at what he saw.

Somehow in the middle of the night Lilly had drifted into his arms. Her head was resting on his chest, right beneath his chin, and she had one arm draped across his stomach. Scotty moved his good arm, only to find it pinned down beneath Lilly's body, and from the feel of it his hand had found its way underneath her shirt. Scotty lay his head back down and closed his eyes as he gently rubbed Lilly's soft back. He could get used to this.

The alarm went off once more and Lilly groaned. The night had been too short, that much was certain. Lilly reluctantly opened her eyes and blinked in surprise at her position. She closed her eyes in embarrassment as she tried to think of a way out of Scotty's arms before he woke up. That was when she felt the soft movement along her bare back. Lilly bit her tongue to keep from lashing out at her partner, finally coming up with a plan.

Lilly snuggled into Scotty's chest and let her hand drift up his broad chest. She could feel Scotty catch his breath, and she smiled at his predictability. She let her fingers outline the fuzz growing on his chin before letting her fingers crawl up to his lips.

Scotty thought his heart was going to stop. Lilly traced his lips with her soft fingers as she draped a leg over his own. He would definitely need a cold shower after he got out of this bed. Just as Scotty felt he was going to lose his mind Lilly struck.

"Ow! Jesus Christ, Lil! Let go!" cried Scotty as Lilly grabbed his nose and pulled it with all her strength.

"Trying to feel me up, Valens?" hissed Lilly twisting Scotty's nose. Scotty instantly pulled his arm out from Lilly's body and clutched her wrist.

"No. It was an accident. Now let go!"

Lilly twisted harder and Scotty cursed at his disadvantage. He still only had one arm and he knew Lilly would get the better of him if her tried to fight her, although at this point, getting pinned by Lilly Rush would be something to look forward to. If she didn't tear his nose off first.

"Alright! Alright! Mercy! I'm sorry," said Scotty letting go of Lilly's wrist. Lilly cocked her head in amusement as she eventually let go of her partner. They both sat up and scooted away from each other. Scotty gingerly touched his nose and glared at Lilly.

"You're right, you don't need a body guard—all you have to do is pull their nose and they'll be crying like a baby," muttered Scotty.

"You deserved it. That's the last time I'm hospitable to you while you're under my roof," replied Lilly edgily.

"Thanks, Lil. I don't know what I'd do without you." Scotty rubbed a hand over his face trying to shake off the feel of Lilly in his arms.

"You're such a bastard, you know that?" growled Lilly as she went about trying to find something to wear.

"'I'm rubber and you're glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you,'" recited Scotty with a devilish gleam in his eyes. Lilly stopped in the doorway of her bathroom and glanced back at Scotty with narrowed eyes.

"Cute, did you learn that all on your own? Oh, and Valens, I'd be sure and take an ice cold shower if I were you."

"Huh?" Scotty gave her a quizzical look. Lilly raised her eyebrows and nodded towards his lower body. Scotty looked down and grabbed the nearest pillow to put on top of himself.

"Hurry up, Rush. I'm gonna need the bathroom soon."

Lilly chuckled as she went into the bathroom. As soon as the door closed shut, Scotty groaned and fell back onto the bed. He sighed as Lilly's cats came to sniff him.

"Your owner's trouble, you know that? She's never gonna let me live this one down."

"You got that right!" called out Lilly from the bathroom. Scotty cursed at himself for his bad luck as he threw the pillow at the bathroom door. The day didn't look very promising.

A/N—I know you guys have been waiting ever so patiently for some real romance, but, since there wouldn't be much of a story if they finally got together, I have to keep the humor going. But I promise, the next two chapters will bring them closer together. Enjoy!